


Stand By Me

by Liza1031



Series: Harringrove One-Shots [35]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Breastfeeding, Childbirth, Domestic Billy and Steve, Domestic Fluff, Harringrove, Harrington-Hargrove Child, Harrington-Hargrove Family, Husbands, Love, M/M, Male Lactation, Marriage, Mpreg, Parents Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Pregnant Steve Harrington, Soft Billy Hargrove, Waterbirth, fluffy cuteness, hard labor, homebirth, parents!harringrove, stranger things, twin pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27994503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza1031/pseuds/Liza1031
Summary: Twin home birth.One-shot based on the song Stand By Me from the band Boostraps
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Harringrove One-Shots [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987054
Kudos: 10





	Stand By Me

When Steve and Billy found out they were expecting twins, their first and second babies at an early pregnancy scan at seven weeks, to say they were shocked was an understatement. It took several weeks for the news to sink in, and emotions ranged from horror to excitement as Steve realized very quickly after finding out they were expecting twins that home birthing twins seemed to be incredibly rare, and actively discouraged by many.

Twins were ‘high risk’ and a home birth would be outside of medical guidance. He started looking into his options and unfortunately found no research around place of birth for twins, and research that did exist supporting early induction and other interventions were all based on medically-managed births in a hospital setting.

The pregnancy progressed incredibly normally and apart from extreme tiredness in the first trimester he remained very well. He realized that if home birth was to be an option for that he was going to have to use a private midwife and a doula. 

The pregnancy continued progressing well, and was remarkable only in its normality. Steve generally felt well, apart from very bad heartburn for which he was taking ranitidine twice daily. They were elated to find out they’re having a boy and a girl, one of each, which made them both very happy to know they’re getting a son and daughter.

Twin A, the boy, was head down right from the start, and was the presenting and larger twin, Twin B, the girl, was variously transverse and breech, finally turning cephalic at his thirty four week scan. He and Billy drew up several birth plans and stuck with the one that made Steve the most comfortable.

Now at thirty eight weeks along, his belly was measuring nineteen inches and he was starting to feel incredibly large and uncomfortable even walking was a struggle.

Steve and Billy were up and about getting their birth space ready for the arrival of their twins.

Steve was busy hanging his birth affirmations all over the walls and Billy put the aromatherapy diffuser he’d bought on their bedside table, which Steve was using and even started to sniff a bit of clary sage when he was having particularly strong Braxton hicks contractions which were frequent now.

After hanging his last piece of paper on the wall, Steve cupped the underside of his belly as another strong practice contraction started.

“Oooh, I need to sit.” He says to himself and slowly waddles to the bed, lowering down to the mattress. He rubs his belly while Billy finishes folding the blankets before setting them in the appropriate basket.

When Billy puts the last blanket away, he looks up at Steve and flashes his husband a warm smile.

“Contraction?”

Steve nods, his lips tugging into a small smile as he rubs the underside of his belly. “Can you get my water for me please? I think I left it in the bathroom.”

“Mhm.”

Steve watches Billy disappear into their bathroom then come out with this bottle of ice water. He thanks his husband with a kiss and chugs the cold liquid, letting out a loud sigh before meeting Billy’s gaze.

“They’re gonna be here soon huh, babe?” Billy asks while splaying his hand against Steve’s large belly.

“Yeah.” Steve confirms and lays his head on Billy’s shoulder, pressing his hand on top of his husband’s. “I’m more than ready for them to be out. I’m so over this pregnancy.”

Billy lightly chuckles, “I know you are, baby.” He adds and kisses the top of Steve’s head. “Just think, by this time next month, we’ll be parents to two beautiful babies that we made together. Isn’t that just so mind blowing?”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Steve sighs and fiddles with his fingers. “I just want them here already. I want to see what they’re gonna look like and who they’re gonna take after the most while still being themselves.”

“Have I ever told you how cute you are when you talk about our babies?” Billy asks and Steve blushes a light shade of pink as a smile spreads across his pale face.

“You’re not so bad yourself when you talk about them either. It kinda turns me on.” Steve adds.

“Oh really?” Billy quirks an eyebrow and slowly leans into Steve, planting their lips together. “I love that you constantly have a sex drive being pregnant. It’s great.”

“Mhm.” Steve hums as Billy continues to kiss him. “Enjoy it...while...it...lasts…” He mutters between kisses.

As he and Billy carry on with their intimate moments, snow begins to slowly fall from the sky. Coating the city in a dusting of pure white as Winter was just around the corner even though it was still early December.

**\---**   
**(2:30AM)**

At 2:30AM on the morning of December 5th, the day before his due date, Steve woke to a loud pop and felt like one of the babies had punched a hole in the amniotic sac.

“Billy!” Steve gasps and sits up in bed, his hand pressing his bump. “Billy!”

“What?” Billy mumbles and blinks a few times seeing his husband appear to be frantic. “Is it time? Are the babies coming?”

“I’m not sure. Can you come help me please?”

Billy doesn’t even give an answer and was by his husband’s side in seconds. He escorted him to the bathroom and stayed close by while watching Steve pull his wet pants down and hover over their toilet. More liquids kept coming out and Billy wasn’t sure whether it was a good sign or a bad sign.

“Um, Steve...is that?”

“My water broke, B. It’s just amniotic fluid and part of my mucus plug. This is all normal.”

“Okay.” Billy sighs, crossing his arms over his chest while Steve cleans himself up a bit. “Do you want me to call Bonnie or hold off?”

Steve doesn’t answer right away and continues to clean himself before getting back up and steady. “I’ll call her in a few. Let me change and get back to bed because I don’t want to stay on my feet for long.”

“Okay, honey.” Billy tiredly smiles and follows his husband back into their bedroom. He gets Steve in a clean pair of sweats then they both get into bed together, keeping the lights off.

Steve curled into his husband’s side with one hand resting on his bump, just staring into the darkness of their bedroom.

They called Bonnie ten minutes later as although contractions had not started he was definitely feeling a twinge. Steve called Bonnie again at 3:15AM saying that he was definitely having surges around three minutes apart. He felt a mixture of relief that he was going into labor, excitement at the prospect of meeting his babies, but also some trepidation that the surges were coming so quickly right off the bat.

Bonnie called Jules around 3:35 when Steve called back again saying the surges were getting stronger and regular now. He then called Jenna who had so kindly agreed to come and support them during the birth despite not practicing as a doula anymore as she had begun training to be a midwife.

When Bonnie and Jules arrived around 4AM, Steve was sitting on a birth ball in the dimly lit den, practicing his hypno-birthing breathing and trying to relax. By this time Steve was losing a lot of amniotic fluid and was feeling intense pressure around the symphysis pubis. It was really hard to get comfortable at all except for sitting on his birth ball. Billy busied himself by putting up and filling the pool in the lounge.

Bonnie brought all her equipment in, and was ready to listen to the babies heartbeats.

“I’m just gonna come beside you here, Steve.” She says and gets down on her knees while Steve stops his movements on the ball so she could listen to the babies. She took out the doppler and squeezed a tiny bit of gel onto it then pressed it against Steve’s skin.

“Okay, let's see how they’re doing.” She moves the doppler around the lower portion of his bump and comes across one of the twin’s heartbeat. “Here’s one.”

Steve smiles as his husband joins him in their den, listening to one of their babies’ hearts beating loud and strong.

“This baby is clearly very excited to meet his or her mommy and daddy.” Bonnie says and moves the doppler around some more trying to find the other baby’s heartbeat. When she finds it, she stops moving the doppler so they could hear it.

“Wow, that sounds kinda low no?” Billy asks, expressing his slight concern for his son or daughter.

“It appears Twin A is lying in front of Twin B, making it hard to listen to their heart rate.” Bonnie tries to maneuver the doppler around the underside of Steve’s bump but the baby was taking up a lot of space so it was hard to get a clear listen of the second baby’s heart beat.

After that, she cleaned Steve’s bump off and left him to continue his focus as he worked through his contractions. Blaine stayed with his husband while the girls went into their lounge to get fully set up with their equipment.

**\---**

By 5:35AM the surges are getting more intense and are now every two minutes apart. Largely, Steve was unaware of being monitored, but every so often he would ask them to stop or wait until he was more comfortable.

Steve was concentrating hard to stay relaxed, but admittedly it all felt like it was progressing much quicker than he had anticipated, and he felt like there was not much time to rest and recover between surges.

It felt like the pool was taking an age to fill and for the temperature to be just right, he was desperate to get in. He was getting lots of pressure and the surges were lasting over a minute.

Steve was very relieved to be able to get into the pool, where the warm water felt so comforting.

Billy was in the pool with Steve, but remained in a pair of shorts as his husband was completely bare with his legs spread wide open. He was providing lots of counter pressure to Steve’s pelvis, helping ease the intensity. Reminding him to keep breathing and focus, Steve was becoming more aware that they were getting closer to the actual birth and the thought frightened him.

Steve was scared he wouldn’t be able to cope with the labor. He sipped isotonic drink throughout to keep his energy up, and the surges were now so strong he was becoming vocal.

As another low roar emitted from deep inside Steve, he kept telling himself he was never going to do this again. An intense contraction caused Steve to groan loudly and lean forward, squeezing his husband.

“Breathe sweetheart.” Billy says softly.

“....c-can’t.”

“Yes you can. You’ve been doing so well, honey. Just hang on a little bit longer.”

Steve’s groans get louder and last longer, resulting in Billy emitting the same sounds to help his husband with his labor.

It was becoming harder now to stay in his zone, and he asked that the room be kept quiet so he could concentrate.There were lots of people in the house so he was generally aware of lots happening in the background.

“....h-hold m-me Billy.” Steve begs and shifts in the water into his husband’s arms again. “...please.”

“Of course, love, of course.” Billy’s strong hold never let his husband go as he kept contracting and bringing their babies closer to meeting them.

The contractions were nearly constant and he felt they were really intense around his lower back.

“I can’t do this, Billy….i-it hurts so m-much.” Steve cries. “P-Please...make it go away.”

“Oh Stevie.” Billy sighs and feels his heart ache for his lover. “You were meant for this, honey. You’ve carried our babies for nearly nine months, growing them inside your belly, and giving them a place to live until they’re ready to come out here and live with us. You, Steve Harrington-Hargrove, are a superstar and such an incredible force bringing our babies into the world. You got this and you’re gonna do this, for us, and for our two beautiful babies who are depending on their mommy to get them here safely.”

Billy’s words were so touching and brought tears of joy to Steve’s eyes knowing he married this person who shared all his love with him and who helped him create their children together.

Steve took Billy’s words and let them sink in, touching deeply in his heart, knowing every single word was right and that Billy wasn’t going to let him do this alone.

**\---**   
**(7:04AM)**

“Great job Steve...let it out and breathe. Good job.”

Steve released his sixth push and leaned back against his husband, laying his head on Billy’s shoulder while he kept his eyes closed.

“You’re doing so well, Steve. Your first baby should be here in no time.”

“Is anything even happening?” Steve asks, rolling his head on Billy’s chest.

“Yep. The more you push, the more we’re able to see his or her head. You just gotta stick with it and push through the pain.”

Before Steve could answer, his whole body shook with the intense pain of another contraction and he didn’t even try to suppress the loud moans that came from deep within.

“Push Steve. C’mon, let’s get this baby out!”

Steve’s face contorted as he pushed, squeezing the crap out of his husband’s hand. Billy quietly counted to ten and Steve released another hard push, going back against his husband.

“I’m getting h-hot.” Steve mumbles and hums loudly as Billy presses a cool cloth to his forehead.

“Relax baby. Just take your time. You got this.” Billy says and kisses Steve’s jaw. “Here, have some water love.” He was given some cold water to drink and some cold water was added to the pool. He felt like he needed to go to the bathroom because the pressure was so intense and shortly after he felt the baby rotating.

“Okay, I think the first twin is back to back so I want you to sit upright Steve.” Bonnie says and holds her hands out for him to grab onto him. He and Billy shifted forward and Blaine made sure he held onto his husband.

The surges were now lasting two minutes and Steve was at the point of breaking.

“I need you to listen to me okay Steve?” He opens his eyes and looks up at his midwife who had a small smile on her face. “After the first baby’s head is born, I want you to sit back right away so I can stabilize the second baby to prevent him or her from flipping to a breech position, okay?”

With a slight nod, Steve swallows and replies a soft okay in a shaky voice.

He got hit with another big contraction and pushed right away.

As Steve’s pushing in the pool, Billy is talking sweet words to him, encouraging him and helping him as he births their babies. Steve was in so much pain but couldn’t stop because he had to deliver their babies.

“Good job, Steve. Ease your baby out.”

Steve took in another deep breath and kept pushing with all his might to get their first baby out.

At 7:45AM, the first baby’s head started to emerge and the burning was incredibly undelightful. Steve screamed and resisted his urges to push. Billy continued to talk him through it and Steve was able to deliver the baby’s head.

He dipped a hand into the water and cupped his son or daughter’s head. Looking down, he could just barely see the small dark rounded bulge in between his legs. The water started to turn a light shade of discolored red as more of the baby was ready to be delivered and make his or her way through.

“Alright one more big push Steve and your first baby will be here.” Bonnie says. “You can deliver them if you’d like. Just push and hold onto them gently, you don’t want to hurt him or her.”

“Okay...okay.” Steve slowly nods and takes a few deep breaths before pushing as hard as he could.

After a few more hard pushes, their first baby had been born, their son. Steve was able to catch him and bring him up from the water and onto his chest. The pool became a bit bloody but nothing of concern so Steve held his baby boy, Beckett William, as he cried in his mommy’s arms.

“Oh my god, Beckett, hi baby. Oh my god you’re here baby, oh my god.” Steve cries as he holds his crying son in his arms. “Billy, look, our baby’s here.”

Billy watched over his husband’s shoulder at the crying baby in Steve’s arms.

“Hi sweet boy, I’m your mommy.” Steve smiles and presses a kiss to the crown of his son’s head. “My god you’re more beautiful than I imagined. I love you, baby.” Steve was so in love with his son and was amazed at everything about him.

They got to bond with their son for a little while until their second baby, their daughter, was ready to be born.

Billy cut his son’s cord then he was handed to Jules who took care of him for the time being. Steve then got right back into pushing.

**\---**

“...five...six...seven...eight....nin-!”

“-Argh! She’s never coming out!” Steve groans and cuts off Billy’s counting. “Please make it s-stop!”

He gave another big push and let it go, feeling defeated.

“You have to push Steve.”

“No. I can’t push an-anymore. She’s not gonna come out.” He shook his head, resisting the urge to push.

“Yes she will. You have to focus, hun. I can see her head, you just need to give a bit more effort.”

“More effort?! I’ve been pushing for almost two hours!”

“I know.” Bonnie sighs and looks at Jules who was worried for Steve, as was Billy. “Here, let’s turn you around so you’re on your knees and have you push like that. Maybe a change in position with help get her out.”

So Steve listened to his midwife and turned on his knees, facing Billy. He wrapped his arms around his husband and held onto him as he got ready to push again.

He was really tired now but kept going and pushed with Billy coaching him through his surge.

“Alright let’s try again, Steve. Nice big breath in and push down.”

“C’mon babe, I know you can do this. Push.”

Steve’s muscles clenched as he pushed and he started to feel her head slowly emerge from the canal. He kept pushing and praying that she’d just pop out soon.

“Good, Steve. Here comes her head. She’s face up so gentle pushes alright? You may tear so just focus on gentle pushes.”

After her head was delivered, Steve got into a support squat, per Bonnie’s request and he continued to push to get his daughter out.

With another few more pushes Elizabeth Marie was born at 8:34AM. She was a bit floppy and shocked but came straight up onto his chest Steve had now successfully delivered both twins and was able to relax after the strenuous labor and delivery.

He held his baby girl as she took her first breath and let out a water cry which was music to their ears.

“Aww Billy, look at her.” Steve couldn’t stop smiling as they stared at their baby girl together. She looked exactly like Billy. She had his curls, his plump lips, his nose. Everything about her was her daddy. “Hi sweet girl, hi honey. I’m so happy you’re finally here with us.”

Steve and Billy sat in the pool for a few more minutes with their daughter then Billy cut her cord and she was given to Jules. Bonnie and Billy assisted Steve to his feet and let him deliver the placenta before moving him out of the water and over to the bed.

They laid a towel down and he slowly sat on the soft mattress, with Billy’s help to get comfortable.

Both babies were keen to be fed so with some help from his husband and Jules, the babies latched on right away and both nursed while Steve relished in the moment.

After they ate, the babies were weighed and their son weighed eight pounds one ounces and his sister only slightly heavier at eight pounds six and a half ounces. Steve had a small second degree tear and after chatting with the midwives decided not to have stitches.

Billy helps Steve into the shower and back into bed with the babies.

Bonnie carried on with a few more check ups on the babies and Steve before thanking them and making her way out, mentioning she’ll be by to check on them in a few days. Jules did the same, leaving the two men with their babies.

Steve gets Beckett dressed in some white footie pajamas with monkeys on them while Billy dresses Elizabeth in a white one as well but hers had black and white flowers on it.

They each picked up a baby and sat against their fabric headboard, holding their tiny creations.

“I’m glad we decided to welcome our babies at home instead of the hospital, Billy.” Steve says, looking between the two babies in their arms. “Thank you for being the best husband in the world and for loving us so much.”

Billy smiles with tears in his eyes and kisses Steve.

They lay their babies in their bassinets in their bedroom then try to get some sleep themselves.

As Billy and Steve lay facing each other in bed, Billy takes Steve’s hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it lightly.

“What was that for?” Steve asks.

“I am so in love with you Steve. So, so, so in love with you. You’re so beautiful and I am overjoyed that I got to be a part of your pregnancy journey.” Billy chokes up as he continues to speak. “Watching you grow our babies and bring them into our lives has been such an amazing experience for me. It was a moment for me to realize that this is all I’ve ever wanted to have with you, Steve.”

“Billy.” Steve sniffled as he too was crying. “Thank you for coming into my life and making me yours. This is our life now and we get to share it forever.”

They share a sweet kiss with each other then get comfortable in each other’s arms, watching their little ones sleep next to their bed.


End file.
